TransWorld SURF And Ballpark Franks Day At Lowers Photo Gallery

Lower Trestles is the surfing world’s equivalent of New York City. Parking’s a bitch, three board pile-ups litter the lineup, and even the occasional burst of violence goes down. But if you’re one of the nation’s top groms prepping for NSSA Nationals you’ve just gotta deal with it.

This past Friday we headed down to Lowers with a wagon full of gear and goodies to get an early look at the nation’s best, grill up some Ballparks, and endure the crowds ourselves to get a few at one of the best pointbreaks in the US of A. Being a Friday on the cusp of summer, a hundred or so of our friends decided to join us for the chest-to-head-south-swell.

When Lowers turns into surfing’s metropolitan district the best approach is to put your head down and just go – sort of like navigating the congested sidewalks of New York. Here’s a few of the highlights that entertained us while posting up on the sand – Rusty’s Shon Lassiter took home a hole in his new board; one dude suffered a deep slice in his ankle thanks to ‘a good buddy’s’ fin; and one grom took matters into his own hands by tackling a snake harder than linebacker Brian Urlacher mid-wave – the masses on the beach hooted and applauded in approval.

Multiple-time NSSA champ Andrew Doheny was lighting it up all day, despite the crowds. “I got snaked on every wave I caught. It was brutal,” he stated as he devoured a few Ballparks before heading back out to lay down some of the best turns of Friday.

The nation’s best are getting their work in before they square off for national titles in prime south swell season at Lowers. Luckily for them, they’ll be surfing it with only five others in just a few days. -Ryan Brower